Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ya-ta Boy]

For starters, we have to posit that ignorance is not an evil thing. It is simply the lack of exposure to knowledge/life, and as such can�t be held against someone. (You can snicker at someone, but you can�t really hold them in contempt.)

Someone who is 26 or 36 simply hasn�t had the time to experience that much of life. Living with Mom and Dad, having Mom and Dad pay the bills, match their socks, bail them out of tight situations, fund their education, explain that you don�t wash red t-shirts with white t-shirts�More, it doesn�t really prepare them for Life. You do have to cut them a LOT of slack.

It�s like so many of the newbies in a bar here. They saunter in after a month or so and start pontificating on the subtleties of Korean culture. You can climb up on your chair and jump up and down, frothing at the mouth over their idiocy, but it doesn�t do any good. They have struggled to reach the insight that Koreans think somewhat differently than westerners and are endearingly eager to share that profound thought.

My gauge is this: The smart youngins say, �Hmmm�.Korea is like this at this moment in time. What was it like before and what will it be like in the future?� The stupid young people say, �Hmmm�Korea is like �this� now, it must have always been like this.�


Isn�t it the ultimate bad luck to be both young and stupid?

Pre-emptive strike: No, older people aren�t usually jealous of younger people�s age. Naturally, no one wants to be closer to death than other people, but that doesn�t mean we are jealous of you. Nature is kind of treacherous. She (don�t you just love that nature is a �she�?) matches up youth and ignorance and age and knowledge. [It should be clear that I know that there are young bright people and old stupid ones�young stupid ones always turn out to be old stupid ones.]

There were three motivations for this post. One was the silly post from someone here about old people, another was an e-mail from a dear friend I met in Jan. �70. At that time, Patti was a hot chick (yes, women were chicks then) of Chinese, Mexican, Apache, Turkish ancestry who wore a ton of gold belts and suggested going to Mardi Gras. Her birthday is in late May �49. Mine is in late August of the same year. She made a joke about me being �much� younger than her. The third was a comment from a current co-worker who happens to have the same ancestry and first name. Nice guy. He made a joke (but I�m not sure he is entirely comfortable with the joke) about my age and his. He is 24 and I�m 57.

I guess I am curious. When you read posts by the younger posters, do you try to take their age into account and say, �Ummm, OK, in 10 years this guy is going to be a real person. He�s bright and shows signs of growing.� Or, �Ummm, uh-oh. Here is an stupid one. No matter how much time passes, this one is stupid. He�s not going to grow up and become worthwhile.�

[tophatcat]

Ya-ta boy, this is definitely one of the best posts I have read. I know exactly what you are talking about. When some of the young teachers say, �I can�t believe how naive the students are.� I think to myself, �you (young teacher) are only a half of a step beyond that and you don�t even realize it!�

[Homer]

Ya Ta.....interesting thread.

I hope it starts a good debate free from insults and idiocy!

I think you put forth an interesting discussion point there. I am not all that high up the ladder age (mid 30s) but I do see your point. I can just look a short 10 years back and see how I approached things back then and how I approach things now. There has been change due to experience.

As for youth...well I agree that some things need to be lived before they can be understood and that experience usually lends a broader perspective on things. However, for this to happen, a person has to grow and evolve and sadly that is not always the case.

Some newbies come here (Korea) and pontificate after a few weeks. That is to be expected because when you go from zero knowledge about something and learn a few things, you usually fall prey to the illusion that you have learnt a lot. Some people just stop there and fail to keep asking questions about what they learn and about their own views.

Furthemore, many people never look at themselves and tend to judge in unidirectional ways. That is a natural reaction that is often exacerbated by being faced with new things or with new challenges.

Hope this makes some sense to you Ya ta....

[Wrench]

Been on my own since 15/16 years. Now at 27 I know I had my past idioticy but hindsight is always 20/20 (reality hit me hard and knocked me on my ass at an early part of my life). I agree with you but you can only smile and nod. Wisdom doesn't come overnight its a life long aquisition. Sure bitching about people or noobs sometimes relieves that stress but it rarely helps because younger people haven't "got it yet" including me sometimes and by the sounds of it including you Ya-ta and the rest of the world.(I am sure you are wiser then me but you still have questions, life long journey)..


PS.
My question is.. Korea has been very different 10 years ago compared to now.. My question is how is Korea going to be for males when they get rid of conscription.. I know there is a lot of "male bonding" here, holding hands, huging and such, there is now also lots of mamas boys and men that closley resemble females in western eyes. How is that going to change when they get rid of the military service, is this gone propigate the imaturity of the mamas boys into the 20/30 years olds some more?

[europe2seoul]

[Ya-ta Boy]

[tophatcat]

I started when I was 11. I suppose I was an advanced student as well. I also started doing many other tasks by this age or younger, such as helping my mother cook and helping my father keep up the lawn, etc.

[Homer]

europe2seoul,

I think the tone of your post makes Ya ta's point. No one is saying youth has no clue. Ya ta also said not all young people are the same.

As someone who is in his mid 30s I can tell you that your experiences are nothing special in the sense that back when I was in my early 20s we did pretty much the same. I moved out when I was 19 but started "sorting out my socks" well before that. You do have some interesting life experiences for sure and I am certain you can understand what Ya ta was saying in his OP.

Anyway, lets keep the discussion civil as this could turn into something very interesting.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Ya-ta Boy]

(To condense my point:)

It is natural, but naive, to think that what you see around you is the way things have always been and will always be.

Korea has changed SO much since I arrived in '94. It is a major mistake to think that what you see now is the way it was and is the way it will be. (I think this is often a function of age.)

[oneofthesarahs]

But when you look at all of the young people in the world being stupid and making mistakes, cut us some slack. That's what being young is for: being stupid and making mistakes. It turns us into the older, wiser people we will eventually become.

[europe2seoul]

[europe2seoul]

[Corporal]

Age is opportunity no less,
Than youth itself, though in another dress,
And as the evening twilight fades away,
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

[Ya-ta Boy]